Randall Freeze: South Texas Town Planner Busted in Murder for Hire Plot

Randall Freeze is an orderly man. People who are not seldom get hired to chair the Aransas Pass Planning and Zoning Commission.

But apparently one of his ex-wives had introduced a blight of some sort into Freeze's tidy, manicured existence, because police in San Patricio County say that Freeze hatched a plan to hire a (very cheap) hitman to zone that woman and her new husband right out of existence.

Or maybe his ex, with whom he had two children, was simply too burdensome an expense. Among the other hats in Freeze's closet is that of a professional financial adviser, so perhaps he was simply taking his own firm's advice to "take a proactive approach to [his] personal financial situation." Indeed, his ex is on the record as saying that the two of them did frequently squabble over child support. One way for Freeze to take a proactive approach in that regard could be for him to put the big chill on his ex.

According to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Freeze's attempt to hire someone to ice his ex melted away when the would-be killer, who knew the intended victims, told both them and police about the plan. Police claim to have tape of him discussing the hit with Freeze.

Published reports say Freeze handed him a whopping $500 down payment to drown them and make it look like a sailing mishap. As it was put in the arrest affidavit quoted in the Aransas Pass Progress, Freeze wanted his ex-wife and her husband to be left for the sharks.

Freeze was arrested Monday and held long enough to pose for that psychotic-looking mugshot. He made his $100,000 bail Tuesday night. He faces a first-degree felony charge of solicitation of capital murder, and area police have said that money changed hands on the deal, worsening his case considerably.

Speaking through his attorney Arnold Govella, Freeze denied any wrongdoing. "These allegations are having a horrendous and disruptive impact on his family and professional life," Govella told the Progress.